Criminal

Black and white illustration of Benjamin Ferencz, wearing a suit and tie.

Palace of Justice – A Conversation with Benjamin Ferencz

Episode #214

2023-04-14 05:00:38

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Remembering the last surviving prosecutor from the Nuremberg trials.
A black and white illustrated image of a long fur coat.

The Most Wonderful Terrible Person

Episode #213

2023-04-07 05:00:04

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When Debra Miller woke up on October 8th, 1964, she was expecting to see a black Volkswagen in her family’s driveway. Instead, she saw a police car. “And I knew my father was dead.”
Black and white illustration of an empty wooden chair.

The Fasting Cure

Episode #212

2023-03-24 05:00:13

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In 1911, two sisters traveled to Seattle to meet a "doctor" named Linda Hazzard. The sisters didn’t seem very sick, but when they arrived, Dr. Hazzard told them they didn’t have a moment to lose – they needed to begin her treatment right away.  A few months later, one of the sisters wrote a letter to her old governess. “I am wonderfully better in fact,” she said, “getting stronger by leaps.” But her handwriting was messier than usual, and her sentences ran together and overlapped.
A black and white illustration of a man surrounded by electronics. He has his arms up and hands out.

Crazy Eddie

Episode #211

2023-03-17 05:00:12

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In the 1980s, the discount electronics chain store Crazy Eddie was so famous, its commercials were parodied on "Saturday Night Live." So when the family business began selling its company shares on Wall Street – making millions – nobody questioned its success.
Black and white illustration of a wooden box. It has the word "fragile" written on the side.

Out of the Box

Episode #210

2023-03-10 05:00:53

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In 1964, one of the best javelin throwers in Australia traveled to England to see if he could qualify for the Olympics. But, because of an injury, he didn’t make the team - and he couldn’t afford a plane ticket home. So he came up with an idea while working a cargo job at Heathrow Airport: “I saw them shipping animals. And I thought, well, if the dogs can survive it, I could.”
A black and white illustration of three clocks and several clock hands. There are white numbers on a black background and all of the clocks say different times.

An Impossible Crime, Part 2

Episode #209

2023-03-03 05:00:45

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This episode continues where Episode 208 leaves off. In 2001, Daniel Taylor wrote a letter from prison to a reporter at the Chicago Tribune named Steve Mills. Steve Mills spent months investigating before publishing a detailed examination of Daniel’s case as part of a series called “Cops and Confessions.” Daniel told us, “To have someone finally say that they believed me changed my whole life.” 
Black and white illustration of two clock faces. The clock faces are black and they are sitting across from each other on a black circle.

An Impossible Crime

Episode #208

2023-02-24 05:00:01

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Daniel Taylor was 17 years old when he was arrested for a 1992 double homicide in Chicago. But Daniel had an alibi. He was in jail at the time of the murders.
A black and white illustration of an onion. It is cut into a few round slices.

Novak v. City of Parma

Episode #207

2023-02-17 05:00:38

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In 2016, a man named Anthony Novak created a parody Facebook page of his local police department. "I just thought, 'That would be funny.'" About a month later, he was arrested. Novak is now petitioning the Supreme Court, and The Onion submitted an amicus brief in support of his case. Their brief is written as a parody of an amicus brief.
A black and white illustrated portrait of Roxie Laybourne. She has big glasses and is wearing a turtle neck. There are bird feathers drawn in a circle around her.

The Feather Lady

Episode #206

2023-02-03 05:00:40

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On October 4, 1960, Eastern Airlines Flight 375 took off from Boston’s Logan airport, and then, two minutes later, it crashed. 62 people died. Investigators couldn't figure out what had happened, and they decided to ask a scientist working at the Smithsonian for help. Roxie Laybourne's investigation helped launch a whole new field of science that changed aviation and forensics.
An illustration of two hands holding a gift bag-style bag that holds a container of cremated human remains.

Sunset Mesa

Episode #205

2023-01-20 05:00:25

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Debbie Schum waited a long time to receive the cremated ashes of her friend, LoraLee Johnson. When she did, she felt relieved to finally take them home with her. But then, she got a call from the FBI.
Black and white illustration of a woman wearing a headscarf. Her black hair is draped over her right shoulder.

They Came for the Judges

Episode #204

2023-01-06 05:00:06

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When the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August of 2021, they unlocked the prisons and freed prisoners, some of whom sought revenge on the women judges who convicted them.
In black and white: illustrations of a pig carrying a pumpkin, a dog in a bed, a camel on the loose, a raccoon holding a lightbulb and a cat in a suitcase.

Dog in the Bed, Cat in the Bag, Camel on the Golf Course

Episode #203

2022-12-16 05:00:59

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Stories of animals really going for it.
Black and white illustration of two 20th century steamboats.

Across the Atlantic

Episode #202

2022-12-02 05:00:24

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In February of 1910, members of the Music Hall Ladies Guild in London received a strange letter from their treasurer – a singer who went by the name Belle Elmore. It said that she suddenly had to travel to the United States, and that she was resigning from her position. Several weeks later, at the Music Hall Ladies Guild fundraising ball, Belle's husband arrived with a date. And she was wearing Belle's brooch.
A black and white illustration of three pill capsules. They are half black, half white and are labeled as 500 MG.

The Tylenol Murders

Episode #201

2022-11-18 05:00:26

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On September 29, 1982, Adam Janus suddenly collapsed in his home outside of Chicago. He died within hours. Later that same day, in the same house, his brother also collapsed — then his sister-in-law. All three of them had been healthy. Nobody could figure out what was going on. Stacy...
A black and white illustration of three different radios. One sits on a floor on the left, a smaller one sits on a shelf, and another sits on a table on the right.

We Interrupt This Program

Episode #200

2022-11-04 05:00:48

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On a Saturday night, in February 1949, the music programming on one of the most popular radio stations in Quito, Ecuador was interrupted with an urgent news bulletin: strange objects in the sky that looked like large disks with bright lights were using a powerful ray to destroy a nearby city.
Black and white illustration of three different outdated TV sets in a row, each with a ghost or two appearing to fly out of the screen.

Ghostwatch

Episode #199

2022-10-21 05:00:41

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On Halloween night, in 1992, an unusual television special aired on the BBC. Nobody expected what happened next.